Electronic postage meter controllable by mailing machine

ABSTRACT

An electronic postage meter system includes a postage meter in a secure housing enclosing only an electronic accounting system having registers and a printer. All control for the postage meter is effected by way of a connector on the housing for connecting a mailing machine or service unit to the postage meter. In operation, a sole input to the meter is by way of a keyboard of the mailing machine and a sole signal output is to the mailing machine, for example, to a display. The postage meter has a program to continuously read out its registers to the connector upon an initial application of power to the connector and a service unit which may be adapted solely to display such signals.

This invention relates to electronic postage meters, and is particularlydirected to the provision of an electronic postage meter and postagemeter system wherein the reliability of the postage meter is enhanced,and the expense thereof is reduced to a minimum.

Electronic postage meters are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos.3,938,095; 3,978,457; 4,251,874; and 4,301,507 assigned to the assigneeof the present application, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,093,999. Such postagemeters are designed to be substantially " self-contained" devices, i.e.having keyboards for entering data and displays for displaying postagemeter information integrated therewith.

In the provision of such a complete or substantially complete electronicpostage meter, it is necessary to provide access for the input andoutput devices, such as the keyboard and display, extending through theEMI Shield of the postage meter. In order to inhibit compromising thesecurity of the postage meter as a result of provision of such access,it is of course necessary to specifically design the EMI shield andother components of the postage meter such that the accounting registerswithin the secure housing cannot be altered by way of such access, forexample by external electromagnetic fields.

The requirements for providing such security for the postage meter, inview of the provision of access for the keyboard and display,necessarily increases the cost of the postage meter, as well as its sizeand weight. The design of the postage meter to include the controlfunctions for such devices as a display and keyboard also generallyentails the incorporation, within the secure housing, of numerouscomponents that do not require the same high degree of security as, forexample, the printer and accounting system. Accordingly, in priorelectronic postage meters, the secure housing has generally been madesufficiently large to incorporate such non-secure functions, therebyalso increasing the cost, size and weight of the postage meter. Such anarrangement also disadvantageously includes costly elements in thepostage meter, which is usually a rental device, rather than in themailing system, which is usually purchased by the user.

The incorporation of components not requiring security within theconfines of the secure housing leads to the additional disadvantage ofcomplicating service. Service of the internal components of a postagemeter must be effected by specific personnel, such as representatives ofthe manufacturer in specific secure facilities. Consequently, repaircannot be effected by a user, or even a manufacturers' representative,on customer premises, thereby increasing the service costs for thedevice. In order to minimize such increased service costs, it has beenthe practice to over-design all components within the secure housing,even those not requiring security, to minimize any possibility offailure. Such design also increases the cost and size of the postagemeter.

The present invention is therefore more specifically directed to theprovision of a postage meter and postage meter system that overcomes theabove disadvantages of known electronic postage meters, wherein theelectronic postage meter is comprised of a secure housing that encloses,substantially only, a printer and an electronic accounting system. Theelectronic accounting system, preferably microcomputerized, includesaccounting registers. Contrary to the practice generally employed inprior electronic postage meters, the postage meter itself does not havea keyboard or a display. The sole input and output paths for data is byway of a connector on the secure housing. In addition, the power for thepostage meter is also preferably applied by way of this connector.

A basic postage meter of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.4,251,874, wherein the control for the postage meter may be effected bymeans of a mailing machine, incorporating a keyboard for applying datacorresponding to postage to be printed to the connector of the postagemeter, and a display for displaying the postage meter information. Themailing machine may of course have additional conventional functions,such as mail feeding, mail weighing, and mail calculation functions.

In the arrangement of the invention, the components actually providedwithin the secure housing are only those components that requiresecurity, so that the size and hence cost of the postage meter isminimized. There is hence no necessity to provide overdesignedcomponents, for use in the postage meter, for functions that do notrequire security. In addition, service requirements for the postagemeter are minimized, in view of the minimization of components withinthe postage meter itself.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the postage meter has aprogram that continuously serially outputs the contents of the registersthereof to the connector, upon the initial application of operatingpower to the connector, until a determined control signal is received atthe connector from an external device. This enables the reading of theregisters of the postage meter in a simple manner, and the use of asimple service unit. The service unit for reading the registers mayhence be comprised simply of a source of operating power for the postagemeter, a display, and means for converting the output signals from thepostage meter for display on the display means.

In order that the invention will be more clearly understood, it will nowbe disclosed in greater detail with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a postage meter in accordancewith the invention;

FIG. 2 is a more detailed block diagram of a postage meter system inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the combination of a postage meter andmailing machine in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of signals that may be output from th postage meterof the invention;

FIG. 5 is a simplified block diagram of one display system in accordancewith the invention;

FIG. 6a-6c are simplified illustrations of a display as it may appear inthe device of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a simplified block diagram of a modification of the displaydevice;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a container case for the postage meter,with the lid open, and

FIG. 9 is a perspective frontal view of the carrying case of FIG. 8 withthe lid closed.

Referring now to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1, therein isillustrated the essential organization of a postage meter system inaccordance with the invention. The postage meter 10 includes only thoseelements whose functions require security, i.e., the accounting andaccounting memory 11 and the postage printer 12. The postage meter iscompletely controlled by an external operation control and displaydevice 13 which provides the sole source of data and control signals forthe postage meter. In addition, if a display is provided it is providedon the control unit 13. The control unit 13 may advantageously be a"mailing machine", herein defined as a device or system serving one ormore functions in the processing of mail, aside from those of accountingand printing by the meter itself, such as receiving and/or calculatingthe correct postage to be applied to a given piece of mail, feeding themail to and from the postage meter itself for having postage printedthereon, as well as initiating the printing operation. The calculationsof the postage to be applied may be determined by conventional weighingdevices, or calculators may be employed for calculating on the basis ofdifferent types of mail, the destination of the mail, and differentsurcharges. Alternatively, of course, the operation control and displaydevice 13 may have a manually operable keyboard for inputting an amountcorresponding to the postage to be applied to the mail.

The operation control and display 13 communicates with the meter per seby way of an interface 14 adapted to ensure the security of accountingdata stored in the postage meter. For example, the interface 14 may becomprised of optical couplers (except for power leads), such asdisclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,754 issued Jan. 12, 1982,and assigned to the present assignee, whereby any electrical ormechanical tampering of the postage meter necessarily leaves physicalevidence of the tampering if interference with the accounting data hasbeen actually effected.

The arrangement of the present invention, as illustrated in FIG. 1,thereby minimizes the equipment provided within the postage meteritself, i.e., within the secure housing 15 enclosing the accounting andaccounting memory 11 and printer 12. The minimization of equipmentwithin the postage meter provides numerous advantageous results. Thus,the postage meter may consequently be made smaller, thereby greatlysimplifying the problem of providing a secure housing for the postagemeter, and enabling a significant reduction in the cost of the securehousing. In addition, the reduction in size and weight of the printingmeter, by removal therefrom of devices directed to non-secure functions,renders the postage meter much more portable, so that it may be moreeasily transported, for example, to a post office for recharging.

In conventional electronic postage meters, such as disclosed, forexample, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,457, various devices such as a keyboardand a display are provided on the postage meter. In order to employ suchperipheral devices in the postage meter, it is hence necessary toestablish transmission paths between these peripheral devices and thecentral processor of the postage meter. In order that these transmissionpaths do not compromise the integrity of the postage meter, it isnecessary to specially design the postage meter such that anycommunication paths or aperture in the secure housing be designed toinhibit access to the accounting units of the postage meter. Such designnecessarily increases the cost and complexity of the postage meter.

In accordance with the present invention, however, as shown in FIG. 1,since the functions of the display and keyboard are provided in theexternal unit, it is now necessary to provide only a single securecommunication path to and from the postage meter.

As described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,507 from the standpoint of securityit is desirable to minimize the number of transmission paths, such that,for example, the entire communication between the postage meter and theexternal control device is by way of a single two way two linecommunication path. The communication with the postage meter of thisinvention is hence preferably serial asynchronous communication, on abit by bit basis. The communication technique employed herein alsoadvantageously includes retransmission of received data, and thetransmission of no-error pulses between the pulse groupings, verifyingcorrect transmission, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,507.

The minimization of functions of the postage meter itself provides astill further advantage from the standpoint of serviceability andreliability. The reduction of components and the functions servedthereby within the postage meter of course increases the reliability ofthe postage meter, and decreases the necessity for servicing suchcomponents within the secure housing. The systems thus removed from thepostage meter are more accessible when they are located within themailing machine itself, and hence can be more easily serviced. Theservicing of such a system hence can be more readily and moreeconomically effected by less skilled personnel than was necessary toservice the systems when they were within the secure housing of thepostage meter. The user of the postage meter may hence have fullercontrol over the servicing of the mailing machine, the increasedreliability of the postage meter per se thereby minimizing the necessityof access to the postage meter. This results in the possibility ofdesign of the mailing machine with less consideration given theaccessibility of the postage meter itself for operation, service or forits mobility for recharging purposes. The postage meter then may hencebe "buried" within the mailing machine, so that it is in fact notexternally accessible during normal use of the mailing machine.

In a further extension of the system of FIG. 1, as illustrated in FIG.2, the postage meter 10 is also provided with an isolation power supplysystem 16, which may also be within the secure housing. This enables thepostage meter to be supplied from an external power supply source 17,for example, in the mailing machine. The isolation supply may haveconventional circuits inhibiting the application of over-voltage,voltage spikes or under-voltage to the postage meter. The isolationsupply may be of anyone of a number of designs, for example, a highfrequency switching power supply may be employed for this purpose. Sincethe provision of any power to the meter requires access through thesecure housing, it is of course essential that tampering, for example,applying excess voltage from the power supply, cannot affect theintegrity of the accounting memories within the system. The internalisolation supply must hence prevent the passing of such over-voltages tothe memory portion of the postage meter.

As a result of the use of the isolation supply, it is hence apparentthat the operating current for the postage meter may be supplied by themailing machine. As a consequence, it is even unnecessary to provide anon-off switch in the postage meter, this function being easily served bycontrol of the mailing machine itself.

It must of course be pointed out that it is essential, in accordancewith the present invention, to retain both the printer and theaccounting system within the secure housings of the postage meter.Separation of the printing function renders the printer itself subjectto tampering, thereby multiplying the security requirements sincesecurity must then be provided to ensure that the printer can becontrolled effectively only by way of secure signals from the accountingunit.

Referring again to FIG. 2, it is evident that the interface 14 enablingpassage of signals to and from the postage meter, upon removal from themailing machine, is externally accessible, and hence subject totampering. In accordance with the invention it is only necessary toensure security of this interface from effects that would result in theloss of accounting data in the memory, such as may occur, for example,by mechanical tampering or the application of excess voltage. Theapplication of signals of the postage meter of the type that would benormally applied by the mailing machine does not constitute a problem,since if any postage is in fact printed as a result of such applicationsof signals to the meter, an accounting will in fact be made of suchprinting.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the interface 14 may form a removableinterconnector between the mailing machine and the postage meter,enabling the ready removal of the postage meter from interconnectionwith the mailing machine. The connector may be adapted to simultaneouslysupply power from the power supply 17, as well as interconnecting thesignal channels. In this embodiment of the invention, a microcomputer 20is provided within the mailing machine, having a memory 21 and keyboard22 or other data input, and a display 23 connected thereto. The postagemeter 10 may have a separate microcomputer 25 with an accounting memory26, for example a non-volatile memory, and a printer 12 connectedthereto.

The postage meter system illustrated in FIG. 2 may be recharged in anumber of different manners. The process of recharging refers to theadjustment of the registers of the meter to increase the postage thatthe meter is authorized to dispense. In one recharging technique, thepostage meter may be recharged disconnection of removal from the mailingmachine. If the mailing machine is provided with a keyboard in thisrecharging technique, the microcomputer 25 has stored therein apseudo-random number sequence corresponding to a pseudo-random sequencestored at the location of the postal authorities, so that obtaining thenext number of the sequence from the postage authorities and entering itinto the keyboard enables the postage meter to recharge itself either toa fixed sum or to a sum subsequently entered into the keyboard. Thistype of recharging is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No.4,097,923. With this type of recharging it is evident that there isseldom any need for disconnecting the postage meter from the mailingmachine.

As an alternative, of course, the postage meter may be removed forrecharging at a post office employing, for example, a system duplicatingthe necessary portions of the mailing machine as illustrated in FIG. 2.

It may on occasion be necessary to check the condition of the postagemeter, for example, to read the registers therein independently of themailing machine to ensure that they correspond to the correct reading asestablished by the postal authorities. For this purpose, a servicemanmay be provided with a control system having the functions of theoperation control and display 13 of FIG. 2. The programs of themicrocomputers 20 and 25 enable interrogation of the memory 26 of thepostage meter, so that selected contents thereof may be read on thedisplay 23.

The operation control and display 13 may also include an interface 19 toenable external control.

A more complete block diagram of a postage meter system in accordancewith the embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 3. In thisembodiment of the invention, the microprocessor 50 of the mailingmachine or service unit is coupled to the microprocessor 51 of thepostage meter by way of optocouplers 52 and 53 connected for signaltransfer in opposite directions between the microprocessors. Thesesignal paths are serial signal paths, the microprocessor preferablybeing programmed to transfer asynchronous serial messages on abit-by-bit basis, such as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No.4,301,507 issued Nov. 17, 1981. Connectors 55 enable separation of thepostage meter and the mailing machine, the connectors 55 being ofconventional design. The optocouplers 52 and 53 as above discussedinhibit the application of voltages to the microprocessor 51 that maydamage the microprocessor or the memory units coupled thereto.

The postage meter also includes a printer 60 which may be controlled ina conventional manner by the microprocessor 51 and a sensor 61 coupledto apply data to the microprocessor 51 corresponding to the currentsetting position of the printer. A program (e.g. ROM) memory 62 iscoupled to the microprocessor for controlling the operation thereof, inaccordance with the desired programs, and data, such as accounting data,is stored in a non-volatile memory (NVM) 63. The power supply 65 of themailing machine is connected to apply power to the isolation supply 66of the postage meter, for example, by way of connector 67, which, asdiscussed above, forms a part of the same conventional connector 55. Theisolation supply 66 supplies the power for the operation of themicroprocessor 51 and its peripherals, as well as for driving theprinter 60. The mailing machine includes a memory 70 coupled to themicroprocessor 50, the memory 70 including program memory as well astemporary working memory. A signal input, such as keyboard 71, iscoupled to the microprocessor 50 for entering information concerning theamount of postage to be printed, as well as optionally various otherdata such as recharge data. It is of course apparent that alternateinputs may be coupled to the microprocessor 50, such as, for example,weighing machines or the like. In addition, a display 72 is coupled tothe microprocessor for displaying, for example, the postage beingprinted. The program memory 70 of the microprocessor may also enablekeyboard requests which in turn enable the display of the contents ofthe registers of the postage meter on of the display 72.

Since the postage meter in accordance with the invention only serves aminimum number of functions, i.e., only those functions which must bewell protected against tampering, the postage meter is of a simpledesign that is adaptable to use in different types of mailing machines,thereby reducing the cost of the postage meter by enablingstandardization of a simple unit for a large number of applications.

When a postage meter is put into service, or is removed from service, amanufacturer's representative must be present in order to record theregister readings of the postage meter. It is apparent that the serviceunit of FIG. 3 described above can be readily used by serve amanufacturer's representative in the reading of the registers, withoutthe necessity of complex or expensive equipment, obviating thereby therequirement of direct displays on the postage meter itself.

Postal inspectors, on the other hand, are primarily concerned with theinspection of the postage meters to determine if there has beentampering or damage to a meter. Postal inspectors are of course alsoconcerned with register readings and, as discussed above, these may beeasily and economically obtained by the use of a simple service unit.

FIG. 4 illustrates, in a simple manner, a serial coding of outputsignals that may advantageously be employed, in accordance with theinvention, for enabling readout of the registers of the postage meterfor display in the simple service unit described above, as opposed tothe normal service unit or mailing machine. As discussed above, theserial signals are continuously applied to the transmission path outputof the postage meter upon application of power thereto, until an inputsignal is received by the postage meter, for example, from the keyboardof the mailing machine. In the coding system illustrated in FIG. 4, thehigh-to-low transitions of the signal are synchronizing instants. Thelevel of the signals at determinate times following synchronizingtransitions corresponds to the true data level. Thus, in the signalillustrated in FIG. 4, the data at the sampling instants is 11010111.Suitable coding may of course be employed for distinguishing the outputsfrom the different registers of the postage meter.

The continuous serial output signal from the meter may be advantageouslyemployed, in another embodiment of the invention, to enable the readoutof the registers of the meter in a simple and economical manner.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, a connector 80 is adapted to becoupled to the connector of the postage meter. Lines 81 and 82 from theconnector serve to supply operating power for the service unit. The dataon line 83 is applied, as an input, to a shift register 84. The serialsignals are also applied to a one shot 85 responsive to the negativetransitions of the input signal to produce output clock signals on line86 for clocking the shift register. A plurality of seven-segmentdisplays 87 are coupled to the shift register, for example, with eachsuccessive group of eight shift register stages being coupled to thedifferent segments and decimal of a separate display.

Referring again to FIG. 4, assuming that the cycle time of a signal is2t, then it is apparent that the time of occurrence of the valid outputlevel is a time t following the negative signal transition. Thus, theone shot 85 produces an output pulse of time duration t, to clock theshift register, in this case with a negative transition at each time ofvalid signal entry.

Assuming that the display is to be ten characters wide, then the shiftregister 84 will be 80 bits wide. Upon power up, the meter immediatelyoutputs 80 bits representing the elements to be visible in the tendisplays. When 80 bits have been shifted out, the output pauses forseveral seconds, in order to enable an operator to read the displayvisually. As will be discussed in the following paragraphs, the firsteight bits may represent a special character identifying which of theregisters in the postage meter is being output. After the pause ofseveral seconds, a second series of 80 bits may be output from thepostage meter, representing a second register with its own separateidentifier. After a further pause, a third register, or possibly thefirst register again, may read out.

The simple service unit illustrated in FIG. 5 is adapted only to readout the registers of the postage meter, since it is provided with nofacilities for inputting a signal to the postage meter.

A service unit of the type illustrated in FIG. 5, employing signals ofthe type discussed with respect to FIG. 4, permits the use of a simpleread only internal display, without inhibiting, alternatively, the useof a more sophisticated controlling device. A continuous output of thesignals in the above matter enables readout of the registers in a simpledevice that does not require hard wired latches. The read only displaycan readily enable the readout of a plurality of registers of thepostage meter. In addition, the system is self-correcting andsynchronizing. Even if the first signal sent out from the postage meteris unsynchronized, all subsequent signals transmitted from the postagemeter will result in a correct output display and an indication of thecorrect register.

In order to enable determination of which register is being displayed,the display may include distinctive indicia. For example, as illustratedin FIG. 6a, the first digit 90 of the display may have a "U" character,indicating an ascending register. Following this, the first digit 91 ofthe display may have an inverted "U" display, indicating that theregister being displayed is the descending register. In the nextdisplay, as illustrated in FIG. 6c, the initial digit may be in the formof a "C" indicating the display of the control sum, or sum of theascending and descending register values.

In a modified form of display unit, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the serialsignals are applied by way of a serial interface 95 to a microcomputer96 including a microprocessor and conventional ROM and RAM, preferablyintegrated therewith. The microprocessor is coupled to a suitabledisplay, for example of the type illustrated in FIGS. 6a, 6b and 6c, theROM of the microcomputer being programmed to decode the serial signalsapplied thereto for display in the format illustrated in FIGS. 6a-6c.

The display unit of FIGS. 5 or 7 may advantageously be employed in aportable container 100, as illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9. The container100 may thus constitute a carrying case for the postage meter, having alid 101, and an internal plug 102 adapted to be coupled to the connectorof the postage meter. The container also includes a circuitry unit 104such as illustrated in FIGS. 5 or 7 and an externally visible display105. If desired, the power for the display device or carrying case maybe obtained by way of an external power plug 106. The systems of FIGS.5-9 hence enable the economical reading of the registers of the meter,which may also serve as a carrying case for the postage meter.

While the invention has been specifically disclosed with reference onlyto postage meter, it will be apparent that the invention is alsoadaptable to similar equipment, such as tax meters, parcel serviceregisters, etc., and it is intended to include such devices within thescope of this invention.

While the invention has been disclosed and described with reference to alimited number of embodiments, it will be apparent that variations andmodifications may be made therein, and it is therefore intended in thefollowing claims to cover each such variation and modification asfollows within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A portable postage meter device comprising anelectromagnetically secure housing, a postage accounting system having aregister and a postage printer coupled thereto within said housing, portmeans on said housing and comprising the sole external access to enterdata in and read data from said accounting system, said port meanscomprising means inhibiting application of voltages directly to saidaccounting system from external of said housing, said port means furthercomprising separable intercoupling means for intercoupling said devicewith an external device, and serial signal transmission means in saidhousing for transferring signals between said port and said accountingsystem solely by serial coded signals, and means responsive to adetermined first condition for continuously applying data correspondingto the contents of said register to said port means.
 2. The portablepostage meter device of claim 1 wherein said intercoupling meanscomprises optical coupling means whereby voltages that may damage theaccounting system cannot be applied thereto from externally of saidhousing.
 3. The portable postage meter of claim 1 further comprisingmeans responsive to a second condition for inhibiting said continuousapplication of data from said register and enabling entry of data fromsaid external source by way of said port means.
 4. The portable postagemeter device of claim 3 wherein said port means comprises opto-electriccoupling means.
 5. The portable postage meter device of claim 3 whereina display is provided as part of said external device which constitutesthe sole display coupled to the postage meter device.
 6. The portablepostage meter device of claim 1 wherein said postage accounting systemcomprises the sole element serving active postage meter functions withinsaid secure housing.
 7. A portable electronic postage meter devicecomprising an electromagnetically secure housing enclosing an electronicpostage meter accounting system and a postage printer coupled thereto,port means on said housing and operative to enable data and controlsignal communication between said accounting system and externaldevices, and comprising a separable coupling and means inhibitingapplication of electric voltages to said accounting system fromexternally of said housing that may damage said accounting system, saidaccounting system comprising a register containing postage meter dataand a program with a routine for repeatedly applying serially codedsignals corresponding to the data in said register to said port meansunder predetermined conditions.
 8. The portable electronic postage meterdevice of claim 7 comprising means for applying operating power to saidaccounting system, said routine continually applying said signalscorresponding to the data in said register to said port means upon theapplication of power to said accounting system until a predeterminedcondition occurs.
 9. The portable electronic postage meter device ofclaim 8 wherein said predetermined condition comprises the applicationof a message from an external device by way of said port means.
 10. Theportable electronic postage meter device of claim 9 wherein saidaccounting system comprises a further register containing a said controlsignal, said program routine sequentially applying said data from saidfirst mentioned register and said control signal from said furtherregister to said port means.
 11. In an electronic postage metercomprising a secure housing enclosing an electromagnetically printer andan electronic accounting system connected thereto, said accountingsystem including a microcomputer control system, register means coupledthereto for storing postage meter data, and memory means for storingprograms for controlling said microcomputer control system; theimprovement comprising a connector on said housing and coupled to saidmicrocomputer control system for enabling separable interconnection of aperipheral device to said postage meter, said memory means having aprogram for continuously applying data corresponding to the data storedin said registered means to said connector upon initial application ofoperating power to said postage meter, and means responsive to apredetermined external signal applied to said connector for enablingsaid postage meter program in said postage meter.
 12. The electronicpostage meter of claim 11 wherein the postage meter includes means forenabling application of electrical power thereto solely by way of saidconnector.
 13. The electronic postage meter of claim 11 wherein saidmicrocomputer control system is coupled to said connector by way of atwo-way serial communication path that constitutes the solecommunication path to said control system from externally of saidpostage meter.
 14. The electronic postage meter of claim 13 wherein saidcommunication path to said connector constitutes the sole path forinputting of control and data information to said microcomputer controlsystem and determines the data stored in said register means.
 15. Theelectronic postage meter of claim 14 wherein electric operating power isapplied to said postage meter solely by way of said connector, wherebysaid program for continuously applying data to said connector is enabledupon the applying of operating power to said connector.
 16. Theelectronic postage meter of claim 11 wherein said peripheral deviceincludes connector means connectible to said connector, means forapplying power to said connector means for application to said postagemeter, and means responsive to receipt of data applied to said connectorfor displaying the contents of said register means.